Energy Retrofit Strategies in the Building Sector

Is South Korea's 2050 Carbon-Neutral scenario sufficient for meeting greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal?

As the building sector is a major contributor to global energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, there is a growing focus on achieving significant reductions in energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in the building sector. Energy consumption in buildings can be classified into embodied energy and operational energy. Studies have indicated that operational energy contributes to 80%–90% of the total life cycle energy in buildings while embodied energy only contributes to 10%–20%. Though several strategies have been implemented to reduce OE, there has not been enough attention on reducing embodied energy in buildings. Therefore, it is vital to conduct a study on reducing embodied energy in buildings. A comprehensive literature review was conducted by referring to books, reports, theses, journals, magazines, and conference proceedings to identify several practices for reducing embodied energy in buildings as well as barriers to moving towards low embodied energy in buildings. In conclusion, the study showed that reducing embodied energy in buildings is an essential step towards achieving significant reductions in energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in the building sector, and a concerted effort is needed to overcome the identified barriers and implement the identified practices.

A new government report on climate change shows that global emissions of greenhouse gases have increased to very high levels despite various policies to reduce climate change. Building energy accounts for 40% of the world’s energy consumption and accounts for 33% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. This study applied the LEAP (Long-range energy alternatives planning) model and Bass diffusion method for predicting the total energy consumption and GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emissions from the residential and commercial building sector of Sejong City in South Korea. Then, using the Bass diffusion model, three scenarios were analyzed (REST: Renewable energy supply target, BES: Building energy saving, BEP: Building energy policy) for GHG reduction. The GHG emissions for Sejong City for 2015–2030 were analyzed, and the past and future GHG emissions of the city were predicted in a Business-as-Usual (BAU) scenario. In the REST scenario, the GHG emissions would attain a 24.5% reduction and, in the BES scenario, the GHG emissions would attain 12.81% reduction by 2030. Finally, the BEP scenario shows the potential for a 19.81% GHG reduction. These results could be used to guide the planning and development of the new city.

The Republic of Korea submitted its updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat in December 2021. The updated NDC target is to reduce total national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 40% from the 2018 level, which is 727.6 Mt CO2eq, by 2030. According to the updated NDC, local governments are also required to revise their GHG reduction plans. In addition, local governments should self-inspect the progress and major achievements of the GHG reduction plan every year in accordance with the evaluation guideline of the Ministry of Environment. Of 6 metropolitan cities, Gyeonggi Province shows the highest GHG emissions in the country, which accounts for about 17% of the total national GHG emissions in 2021. Ironically, Goyang City, a basic local government of Gyeonggi Province, was selected as one of the seven best local governments for carbon neutrality in 2021. The City has set a reduction target of 32.8% below BAU by 2030 and prepared a plan to implement reduction targets by sector. Over the last decade, building and transportation sectors have been the major sources of GHG emissions in Goyang City, accounting for approx. 70% of the city’s total GHG emissions. The city promotes zero-energy building (ZEB) for newly constructed buildings and encourages green remodeling for existing buildings in order to reduce GHG emissions in the building sector. It is essential to introduce renewable energy such as solar, geothermal, hydrothermal, etc. for ZEB and green remodeling. In this study, therefore, the potential for solar power generation, which is most easily applicable to the building sector, and GHG reduction were calculated for residential buildings in Goyang City. To calculate the available area for solar power on the roof of residential buildings, spatial data was constructed using high-resolution aerial photographs and the outline of the building roof was extracted through AI training data. AcknowledgementsThis research was carried out as a part of KICT Research Program (Data-Centric Checkup Technique of Building Energy Performance) funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT.

Production, management, use, and end-of-life of buildings has a large impact on climate change. Therefore, environmental targets are set to lower the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the building sector. To reach these targets building regulation and voluntary environmental assessment methods (EAMs) that evaluate and certify the building’s environmental impact are put forward as tools to push the building sector towards lower GHG emissions. In Sweden, building design is governed by building regulations and the dominant EAM is ‘Miljöbyggnad’ (MB) (“Environmental building”). Today, more than 1900 buildings have been certified by MB and it has influenced the building and property sector. In this chapter the potential impact MB and the linked Swedish building regulations have on building performance, energy use and GHG emissions, will be reviewed and discussed. The analysis investigates several of the MB’s indicators, evaluate to what degree EAMs can influence the design of the building and the energy system to lower the energy use and GHG emissions based on material choices. The analysis presents important aspects that may influence the design of the building and its energy system and what challenges and possibilities the indicators, criteria and regulations can have on buildings and climate change. In addition, some modification and suggestion for improvements are presented.

Impacts of green certification programs on energy consumption and GHG emissions in buildings: A spatial regression approach

Climate policy impacts on building energy use, emissions, and health: New York City local law 97

Energy-related activities are a major contributor of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. A growing body of knowledge clearly depicts the links between human activities and climate change. Over the last century the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and oil and other human activities has released carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and other heat-trapping GHG emissions into the atmosphere and thus increased the concentration of atmospheric CO2 emissions. The main human activities that emit CO2 emissions are (1) the combustion of fossil fuels to generate electricity, accounting for about 37% of total U.S. CO2 emissions and 31% of total U.S. GHG emissions in 2013, (2) the combustion of fossil fuels such as gasoline and diesel to transport people and goods, accounting for about 31% of total U.S. CO2 emissions and 26% of total U.S. GHG emissions in 2013, and (3) industrial processes such as the production and consumption of minerals and chemicals, accounting for about 15% of total U.S. CO2 emissions and 12% of total ...

Uncovering the lifecycle GHG emissions and its reduction opportunities from the urban buildings: A case study of Macau

Statistical analysis of greenhouse gas emissions of South Korean residential buildings

Mitigating Curtailment and Carbon Emissions through Load Migration between Data Centers

India’s growth of energy demand in the building stock, and efforts to curb it, are placed into an international context by adapting the reporting criteria developed for the Global Alliance on Building & Construction's (GABC) Global Status Report (2017) on buildings and construction. A survey of state and non-state actor climate commitments submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) Non State Actors Zone for Climate Action (NAZCA) database and recent research on the status of building energy codes and standards globally are also presented. To contribute to a 2°C pathway, India must achieve a 50% reduction in building energy demand and related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. India is taking steps toward this goal through initiatives such as recent upgrades to the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC), encouraging green building rating and energy certification, and stimulating markets for low-carbon/high-efficiency technologies. However, despite improvements in building energy intensity, neither the global or the Indian building sectors are currently decarbonizing. The adoption of consistent national energy and GHG emission reduction goals could further align national, subnational and private-sector climate action commitments to facilitate a transition to a low-carbon emissions pathway and contribute to limiting global warming to well below 2°C.

Long-term energy savings and GHG mitigations in Thailand’s building sector: impacts of energy efficiency plan

Major US electric utility climate pledges have the potential to collectively reduce power sector emissions by one-third

Taking Stock of Strategies on Climate Change and the Way Forward: A Strategic Climate Change Framework for Australia